


Somewhere Beyond the Sea

by ladymal



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 21:53:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6301750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladymal/pseuds/ladymal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Antiva City is not so distant as one may like and Neirin is nervous of what she will find there. Fortunately, her love is at her side to face the future with her. For vox-clamantis-in-deserto as part of my holiday giveaway on tumblr featuring their Adaar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Neirin stared out over the bow of the ship, watching as the wind and the waves carried them closer and closer to their destination of Antiva City. It was a hot day with deep blue skies and massive white clouds that sailed through the air as if they were ships themselves. A few birds called out as they flew overhead, the first she'd seen in awhile. The sea was easy and gave an unobstructed view in all directions. It made her feel very small and unimportant to see the world stretched out endlessly around her but in a comforting way; the ocean and the sky, at least, didn't care who or what she was.

There was a flash of light on the horizon that she at first mistook for the sun glinting off of the water but it came again and again, steady as a drum. Behind her, the sailor in the crow's nest gave a shout and she realized that she was seeing something of the distant city. They would reach it today, then. Her stomach fluttered with nerves at the thought.

She wasn't ready to face the realities waiting for her there.

Josephine joined her at the railing, a large, flat box in her hands and a smile on her lips. Neirin felt a twist of guilt for wishing that their arrival would be delayed for even a day; the journey to Antiva had revealed how truly homesick Josie had been. It had been like watching a flower bloom after a long winter; layers of stress and sadness Neirin hadn't even known Josie had carried seemed to fall away as each moment brought her closer to home. Though Neirin felt sick with dread for the coming meeting with the rest of the Montilyet's, it was worth it to see Josephine so happy.

"The Captain has told me that we will reach port in a few hours at the latest," Josephine said as she bounced slightly on her heels. Her hair was free and billowed around her face with the breeze. "It has been so long since I have been home. Ah, I cannot wait!"

Neirin smiled a little. "Excited?"

"Very. I know that I have told you this before but there is much to love in Antiva. And, of course, it will be good to see my family again. I have missed them terribly."

Shifting with discomfort, she said nothing for a moment. "I'm sure that they've missed you, too. What is that light on the horizon?"

"What—oh! That is The Lady's House, the tallest lighthouse in all of Thedas. Spinning mirrors are used so that travelers may see it at all times of the day."

Squinting against the sun, Neirin looked out at the winking light with renewed interest. "How tall is it exactly?"

"If I remember correctly, the official measurement is three hundred and thirty-one feet."

"You know, I have no idea how tall that actually is," she said, laughing slightly. A trickle of sweat rolled down between her shoulder blades and she plucked at her shirt. "It's much warmer here than I expected it to be."

"I did warn you." Josephine looked up at her and her smile grew gently teasing. "Fortunately, I came prepared for your stubbornness."

She gave Neirin the box then and helped her open it. Nestled inside were leather bracers, shoes, and short jerkin all embossed with filigree and thin, translucent fabric in deep green. Clothing, she realized, more suited for the Antivan climate than her own heavy wools. Resting on top was a pair of wide, gold bangles too small to fit over her hands and enameled with bright blues and pinks.

"What are these?" she asked as she lifted one of the bangles out of the box.

"Oh, you do not know?" Josephine wrung her hands a bit. "They are for your horns. I was under the impression that—well. You do not wear such things?"

"I don't usually," she smiled, the nerves in her stomach replaced with the warmth of happiness, "but I will these. They are a very thoughtful and lovely gift, Josephine. Thank you."

"Oh, good. I mean," a blush turned her cheeks a shade darker and Neirin grinned, "you're welcome."

"Would you help me put them on?"

"Yes, of course."

Josephine took the bangles and Neirin bent down so that she could reach her horns. The jewelry slipped over them easily and rested about halfway along them, slight weights on either side of her head. Before Josie could step back, Neirin gave her a quick kiss on the cheek that had her stifling a giggle.

"I wish you could see how lovely they look on you," Josephine said. "That will have to wait for a time when all of our things aren't packed away, I suppose."

Feeling shy, Neirin reached up to touch the smooth glass and metal. "They don't look strange?"

Josie blinked. "Not at all!"

Reassured, she glanced down at the rest of her gifts. "I should put these on before we meet with your family at the port."

"You don't have to if you would rather not but you will be more comfortable in them, I think."

Neirin nodded and turned to head down to her cabin but was stopped by a light touch to her arm. When she looked back, Josephine cupped her cheek with her hand.

"Do not be nervous, my love," she said. "They will love you as much as I do. I promise."

Hesitating, Neirin clenched her hands around the box but managed to get the question past her lips that had been worrying her for months. "And if they don't?"

"Then they are not the people I believed them to be." She stood up on her toes so she could give her a chaste, sweet kiss on the lips, "Regardless, whatever their opinions, I will love you always."

Blinking rapidly and with a smile stretching ear to ear, Neirin ducked her head and—after another stolen kiss—left Josephine to gaze out over the sea and the future approaching in Antiva City.


End file.
